Yosemite, Ancient Bristlecone

[Drew Wiley]

Very unlikely 395 will close. But as I said, always have warm clothes and a slpg bag
with you. Most of the paved side roads up from 395 are also kept open, though the
road into the Bristlecones might close. Just remember that a forecast of "overcast"
in towns like Mammoth or Bishop should be translated as, "raining or snowing like
crazy" where the roads terminate up at the higher trailheads. But unless roads ice
over, you can generally get back downhill quickly. The road to Patriarch Grove is
almost 11000 ft for quite a few miles, so probably not a good idea in a rental car
even if the road is open. You can generally get to Sherman Grove at the end of
the pavement; and to magnificent panoramas across Owens Valley toward the so.
Sierras. Incidentally, two weeks ago I was enjoying the view from one of the passes
of the Great Western Divide, looking across the Kern Canyon toward the Sierra
crest from the west. The entire crest was white. Stovepipe Well is likely to have
the opposite problem and be an absolute oven this early in the season.

[Preston]

Is 395 south of Reno likely to be a problem if the passes further south are closed?

Terry,

There is a pass on 395 between the Sonora Pass turnoff and Bridgeport called Devil's Gate Pass. It's elevation is 7,500 feet. The highway there is excellent--not steep. If you have chains, it should not be a problem. There is a downgrade on the south side, but if you take it easy, you'll do fine if the weather is funky.

Conway Summit, between Bridgeport and Lee Vining is just shy of 8,000 ft., but again, if you take it easy, it should not be a problem, given the current forecasts.

--P

[vinny]

Did some shooting in along tioga pass and lundy canyon today. It's still very warm for this time of year. It began raining as we left lee vining at sunset. I hope we get some snow as it has snowed every year i've come up here around this time. I plan to visit the bristlecones on monday.
Most aspens are still completely green.

[Terry Hull]

In the weather crap shoot (and given 48 hour motel cancellation policies) I inverted my schedule to arrive in Lone Pine about dinner time 4 Oct around 6:30PM from Reno. I will be there 3 nights. I will be staying at the Dow Villa (hotel cheap seats) and would like to meet Lfers.

I will then either go back north to Big Pine (hoping for Bristlecone) and further north (Bodie) or to Stovepipe Wells based on weather, and the Alamo car rental policy vis roads to Bodie/Bristlecone.

Thanks again to all of your for help.

[Preston]

Just a thought, or two...Since you are heading south on 10/4, why not hop over to Bodie on your way to Lone Pine if you have the time, and the weather cooperates?

As someone mentioned, DV will be hot, and drier than a popcorn fart. If it was me, I would opt to save DV for a later trip and spend my time in the Sierra and its environs.

Glad to help, Terry. Have a great trip, get lots of great light, and stay safe.

--P

[Drew Wiley]

Unseasonable warmth in the high country this time of year is not necessarily a sign
of a comparable forecast. Often it means that some big ogre of a weather system is
crunching the warm air in front of it. Every now and them some fisherman will wander back a few miles in shorts and a T-shirt and then they won't be able to find
them till the snow thaws the next summer. I personally love tempemental weather,
but plan for, whether on the trail or on the road. A storm is expected here on the coast tommorow, with a much bigger one Wed, so this is due to hit the Sierra just
a day later. If for some reason the passes on Hwy 395 should snow over, one can
simply detour the usual truck route from Carson City toward Yerrington slightly into
Nevada, then triangle back down to the north end of Owens Valley. About an hour
longer, that's all. Fall color is just starting to snap into place, but the best chance of
hitting it good will be at the top of the Rock Creek rd above Tom's place, which
branches off 395 just before one descends from Mono Basin into Owen's Valley.
It's an excellent fast paved road clear up to 10,000 ft. A very easy nearly-level hike
takes one into the Little Lakes valley and its over-photographed mtn backdrops,
but no one says you have to duplicate the usual postcards. An early lacing of snow
on those particular peaks and ridges is quite a treat. Lots of aspen around there too,
which typically turn color a full month before they do around June Lk or Lundy Can.

[Jeffrey Sipress]

The areas you want to visit at the tops of the White Mtns have unique and highly unpredictable weather patterns. That's what I love about being up there. The first snows of the season provide the finest dusting for the best photo ops. You can drive pavement all the way to the Shulman Grove unless it is a very big snow dump which will close the gated road. Just do it!

[Drew Wiley]

Jeffrey - I got stuck up there alone one Oct with more than just a dusting of snow. No one could get in or out for a couple of days. I loved every minute of it.

[ROL]

ROL - I did the loop over Franklin Pass, thru big and little 5 lks, and back over Blackrock Pass and Timber Gap just the week before. Lots of heavy hail, rain, sleet, and snow, so had to time it over the passes and back down very efficiently. Absolutely gorgeous, but inherently missed a lot of photo opportunites. Got enough
shots to play with for awhile, of course. There were some lost hikers searches going
on in the interludes choppers could fly, and I certainly hope they ended without
hypothermic fatailities. A couple of unprepared hikers earlier in the season apparently weren't so lucky.

Black Rock sucks. I have successfully avoided it for more than 40 years, but it was my escape hatch given the unknowable weather at that moment (drat!). My intended route was further south up Lost Canyon and over Sawtooth Pass. Either way my wife successfully rendezvoused with me in MK, on Sunday. Learning to use my new digi advanced point & shoot.

[Drew Wiley]

I had originally planned an extra day to backtrack up to Columbine Lk and over
Sawtooth, but the big lightining storms each afternoon required some pretty circumspect route choice, and I lost the first two day stuck in camp at Franklin Lk,
which was in fact quite relaxing - just pop out of the tent whenever the sleet or hail
would stop for ten minutes, grab a nearby shot, and pack the gear back up so I
have a big fuss cleaning it up. But I must say I loved Blackrock and its views,
especially in that dicey weather, but admit I was taking it the reverse direction. I
would have liked to have tried the shortcut over Glacier Pass, but the fellow hiking
with me had no steep ice experience, and the backcountry ranger confirmed that
an ice and crampons would still be needed. A couple of the nights were warm
despite the wild daytime weather, so we did quite a bit of nite hiking either with or
without moonlight. There was a lot more snow on the Kaweahs than in your shots.
Sept is such a wonderful time of the yr in the high country, esp now that nearly all
the mosquitos have retired for the season.